Back to School: Portfolio Center Adds Creativity to Coke Packaging and More

Noel
Stewart, an engineer at Coke, studies a batch of creative ideas from Portfolio Center students.

(Photo Credit: )

Lauren Childs had just graduated from Atlanta’s Portfolio
Center last spring when she landed her dream job. As part of Coke’s Global
Content Excellence group, she’s now applying her graphic design skills to the brand’s
2014 FIFA World Cup campaign.

Even though it’s her first full-time job, it’s not her first
experience working with Coca-Cola. A few months before being hired, she was
part of a “live client” class assigned to steer the creative direction of an
early-stage packaging innovation.

Students from Atlanta's Portfolio Center visit Coke headquarters as part of a 'live client class.'

“Once we started that project, I knew I was going to work
for Coke,” Childs says. “I absolutely loved the atmosphere. Everyone was so proud
of the brand, and that really rubbed off on the students. We were so excited to
be working on something so many people would see and touch.”

Lauren is one of more than 50 students from Portfolio Center
-- one of the country’s top postgraduate creative communication arts schools --
who have supported a range of Coca-Cola projects since 2012.

Each quarter, Coke
provides classes of six to 10 students with a creative brief. From there, the
students conduct research, develop and refine solutions, then present their recommendations to the
client. Some of the students’ recommendations end up on the store shelves, while
others are integrated into other Coke programs.

Scott Biondich leads the development of sparkling beverage packaging and
immediate consumption equipment for Coca-Cola North America. His team has enlisted
Portfolio Center's creative braintrust to contribute outside creativity and
communication expertise to several key projects, including a cold-activated aluminum can featuring
thermochromatic ink technology and a Variety Station, which enables shoppers to
customize eight or 10 packs of Coke beverages. Several other projects the
school has supported are confidential because they have yet to reach the
public.

“The Portfolio Center students have helped translate complex
engineering concepts into visual language that resonates with our internal
brand and innovation customers,” Biondich says. “They have brought our concepts to life by leveraging
our brand positioning and visual identity system. The students have delivered
great designs and ideas, and simultaneously gained valuable real-world
experience working with the world’s number-one brand. It’s a true win-win.”

According to Richardson, what sets Portfolio Center students
apart are the broad range of creative disciplines they bring to the table –
from design and screen-based media, to photography and illustration, to art
direction and copywriting -- all coalesced by the school’s integrative teaching approach.

“Our curriculum focuses on applying design thinking to solve
problems through integrated systems design using a think-plus-do model,” he adds. “With many of these projects, we’re bringing
the art of storytelling to the engineering world and helping people who see in
black and white see in color.”

Wade Thompson, Portfolio Center alum and founder and
creative director at the Atlanta-based firm Son & Sons, has taught several
of the “live classes” at Coke. Getting students away from the classroom and the
everyday rigors of school and into a real-life business environment helps to
create breakthrough learning moments, he says.

“It’s a great opportunity to help students grasp what successful
design partnerships look like by understanding the Coke business and system,
and how design can be used to reach people,” Thompson adds.

For Coke, the collaboration is helping to build a legion of
brand advocates and, as Childs proves, a fruitful talent pipeline. And by
taking time to work with the students, Thompson insists, Coke leaders are
positioning their company as an innovative, design-centric organization.

“Coke is getting brilliant thinking and work from people who
aren’t baked in the solution; they’re approaching their projects from outside
the Coke context,” Thompson adds. “They’re comfortable making mistakes and
going somewhere an agency of record may not have the freedom to go.”

He adds, “When we present to a Coke team, you see an
awakening... people get re-energized. The students help them see challenges in a
new light and open up new solutions. Their enthusiasm and energy are contagious.”

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.